The present invention relates to a device for actuating a shutter of an air conditioner; and, more particularly, device for actuating a shutter of an air conditioner, wherein a pair of vertical guiding plates formed on both sides of the shutter for opening and closing an outlet window formed through a front panel of the air conditioner to extend a predetermined length and a pair of united guiding grooves each provided with a triangular guiding groove for guiding vertical movements of the vertical guiding plate, into which the vertical guiding plate is inserted, and provided, a sliding bar having a plurality of oil grooves are formed on an inner frame, thereby facilitating and assembling the shutter into a guiding member and simplifying the configuration of the guiding member as well as allowing a proper opening/closing functions of the shutter.
In general, an air conditioner such as a heater or an air-cooling device is used to effectively increase or lower the temperature of the air inside buildings or home.
The air conditioner, especially the air-cooling device, two kinds of devices, e.g., a wall-type device hung on a wall and a stand type device standing on the bottom are mainly used. Since the wall-type device has less capacity and is normally mounted on a window, it is used for a room and a small sitting room. The stand-type device is normally used for a sitting room of a large apartment and a commodious single house because of its high capacity.
Such stand-type air conditioner has an air-blowing window normally assembled on the upper frontal portion, and an air-directing unit for adjusting the direction of the air formed in the air-blowing window.
Further, the air-directing unit includes a vertical adjustment plate for adjusting the direction of the air flow in a vertical and horizontal adjustment plate for adjusting the direction of the air flow in a horizontal direction, to allow effectively send the air flow toward the direction desired.
In recent days, a shutter has been installed on the rear side in order to prevent alien material from passing through the air-blowing window of the main body of the air conditioner.
Hereunder, a prior art operating device for actuating the shutter of the air conditioner is explained.
FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of a prior art device for actuating a shutter used in air conditioner; and FIG. 2 illustrates a cross sectional view of the prior art actuating device shown in FIG. 1.
The prior art operating device for actuating the shutter includes an air blowing window 16 where the cooled air is discharged, the air blowing window 16 formed through a front panel 12 of a main body 10 of an air conditioner equipped with various mechanisms, a shutter 20 installed on the rear side of the air-blowing window 16 to open/close simultaneously, a guiding member 30 having a guiding groove 32 into which a guiding lug 22 formed on both sides of the shutter 20 to protrude therefrom is inserted, an actuating rod 70 which one end is connected to a shutter protuberance 124 for actuating the shutter 20, a rack connecting member 60 having a hinge 64 hinged to the other end of the actuating rod 70 and resiliently operated by a spring 80, a rack gear 50 vertically operated and having a hole 52 into which the rack connecting member 60 is inserted, the hole 52 for guiding the rack connecting member 60, and a guiding slot 54 for leading a guiding protuberance 62 of the rack connecting member 60, and a driving motor 40 whose rotating shaft 42 is inserted into a pinion gear 44 engaged with the rack gear under supply of electric power.
As shown in FIG. 2, when the rack gear 50 engaged with the pinion gear 44 is moved down by the operation of the driving motor 40, the guiding protuberance 62 is inserted into the guiding slot 54 of the rack gear 50, allowing the rack connecting member 60 to be moved downwardly at the same time.
The downward movement of the rack connecting member 60 allows the actuating rod 70 connected to the hinge 64 to pull down the rear side of the shutter 20.
When the actuating rod 70 pulls down the shutter 20 from the rear side of the shutter 20, the guiding lug 22 is moved down along the guiding groove 32 of the guiding member 30, resulting that the shutter 20 opens the air-blowing window 16 of the front panel 12.
When the driving motor 40 is rotated in an opposite direction, the shutter 20 is closed by reversed a contrary process, shutting off the air-blowing window 16 of the front panel 12.
For a proper vertical movement of the rack gear 50 driven by the driving motor 40, lubricating oil is applied between a bar groove 56 formed on a rear surface of the rack gear 50 and a sliding bar 12a protruding from a rear surface of the front panel 12 and engaged to the bar groove 56.
An air direction adjustment member 90 is installed on the rear portion of the shutter 20 and a fixing protuberance 96 of a vertical adjustment plate 94 of the air direction adjustment member 90 is inserted into a fixing hole 34 of the guiding member 30 to change the direction of the air vertically.
Further, a horizontal adjustment plate 92 serves to horizontal direction.
The prior art actuating device for actuating the shutter, however, has several shortcomings.
Firs of all, since the rack gear 50 engaged with the pinion gear 44 driven by the driving motor 40 is moved up and down to close/open the air-blowing window 16 without a particular cushioning means except a spring cushioning the rack connecting member 60, the configuration of the device becomes complex and the engagement between the pinion gear 44 and the rack gear 50 tends to generate a significant noise problem.
Further, in case that alien material is interposed in the shutter 20, it is easy for the rack gear and the pinion gear to be damaged.
Furthermore, since the guiding groove 32 of the guiding member 30 includes two separated guiding grooves and the guiding lugs 22 formed at both lateral positions of the shutter 20 are inserted into those different guiding grooves, it is difficult to make or prepare a molding die fitted into the separated guiding grooves and the guiding member 30 cames a problem where the it becomes weak and wider.
Moreover, if the guiding lugs 22 formed at the shutter 20 is abruptly broken by, e.g., a shock, the shutter cannot be properly moved in the guiding member 30.
In addition, since the lubricating oil applied between the sliding bar 12a and the bar groove 56 of the rack gear 50 is dried out due to repeated opening/closing operations, the lubricating function between the sliding bar 12a and the bar groove 56 of the rack gear 50 is degraded after a use of a long period of time, increasing a possibility for the components to be damaged or worn out and finally disabling the operation of the shutter.
Therefore, the primary objective of the invention is to provide an actuating device for actuating a shutter of an air conditioner, wherein a pair of vertical guiding plates formed on both sides of the shutter for opening and closing an outlet window formed through a front panel of the air conditioner to extend a predetermined length and a pair of united guiding grooves each provided with a triangular guiding groove for guiding vertical movements of the vertical guiding plate, into which the vertical guiding plate is inserted, and provided a sliding bar having a plurality of oil grooves are formed on an inner frame, thereby facilitating the assemble of the shutter into a guiding member and simplifying the configuration of the guiding member as well as allowing a proper opening/closing functions by the shutter.
The above and other objects of the invention are accomplished by providing an operating device for actuating a shutter provided with an outlet window through which a cooled air generated within an air conditioner is discharged outwardly, the outlet window formed through a front panel of the main body of an air conditioner, a shutter for opening and closing the outlet window, a guiding member for guiding movements of the shutter, and an air direction adjustment mounted on a rear portion of the shutter for adjusting the direction of a discharged air by using vertical and horizontal adjustment plates, comprising: a vertical guiding plate formed on both sides of the shutter to extend in a lengthwise direction thereof; a united guiding groove divided into a triangular guiding groove having a widened width for guiding the vertical guiding plate and an inclined guiding groove having a narrow width and formed in an inclined form at a predetermined angle; a vertical movement member having a movement member protuberance provided with a hinge at which one end of an actuating rod is connected, the other end of the actuating rod being connected to a shutter protuberance formed on the rear surface of the shutter, and a slip prevention protuberance having a tooth shaped configuration protruding from the front surface thereof, a roller resiliently contacted on the slip prevention protuberance of the vertical movement member; and a driving motor whose rotating shaft is inserted into the roller for actuating the vertical movement member upwardly and downwardly by being supplied with electric power.